Figure 1.--American boys in the 19th century mostly wore long pants suits. He we see a tin-type of two brothers wearing early single-breasted sack suits. Note that they do not fit very well. The tin-type is undated, but looks like the 1870s.

American boys have worn suits over time with a variety of pants, including knee breeches, kneepants, knickers, bloomer knickers, short pants, and long pants. The popularity and age conventions for these different types of pants have varied significantly over time. Since the beginning of the 19th century, long pants suits have been the most commom, but there have been significant periods in which shortened-length pants have been important, often for specific age groups. Knee breeches were popular throughout the 18th century. Long trousers have been the most common type of suit pants since the turn-of-the-18th century. Other trouser types, including knickers, knee pants, and short pants hsve also been very common. Popularity have been affected by a large number of factors. We also notice a range of cut and styling for suit pants. This is somewhat covered by by the suit jackets in the availsble photographs.

Knee Breeches

Pants developed in the 17th century and gradually evolved into knee breeches. Knee breeches were common worn throughout the 18th century. They were worn by both men and boys and no age conventions were associated with them. Lower class workers might wear long pants. And knee breeches may have been less common on farms, especially on the frontier in America. But the standard trousers for men and boys in the 18th century was knee breeches. This is what you saw in the towns and cities. Boys from families with any social status would have worn them.

Long Pants

Boys commonly wore long pants during the early and mid-19th century. Only at the end of the 18th century did some boys begin wearing long pants as part of skeleton suits. This was the first dedicated children's outfit. At first long pants were first worn by boys rather than men, but gradually became standard for both boys and men. This continued until the mid-19th century when some younger boys began wearing types of shortened-length pants, both bloomer knickers and knee pants. Even so, most boys wore long psants until the 1890s when knee pants became standard for boys. After the turn of the 20th century, knee pants continued to be common for boys. Gradually American boys bdgan weaing knickers and European boys short pants. Eve during this period, some boys wore long pnts. Long pants increased in popularity during the 1930s in America and rapidly replaced knickers in the 1940s. Some younger boys wore short pants suits in the 50s, but long pnts suits were more common. At the sme time we begin to see a continued trend toward informality and fewer boys wearing suits.

Figure 2.--This American boy wears a very loud knee pants suit. We are not sure how to date the portrait, but would guess the 1880s.

Bloomer Knickers

Knicker bloomers appeared in the mid-19th century. They were worn by younger boys with a wide variety of fancy jackets, primarily cut-away jackets. They were also worn around the turn of the 20th century with tunics. They were normally worn with a suit jacket, although we see a few boys wearing them just with blouses. We know realatively little about them because the suit jacket or tunic usually covere a good bit of them. We think most were made in the button-on style. We are not sure about this as we have realtively few images. Ware also unsre about the construction. They do not seem to have commonly had flys, but rather side buttons which let down a front flap. We are unsure about pocket arrangements. They were made in different lengths, both above and below the knee. The pants blouced at the knee. We're not sure if elastic or drawstrings were used.

Knee Pants

Knee pants appeared in the mid-19th century . We note younger boys wearing fancy suits with both bloomer knickers and knee pants. Knee pants in the 1860s became an increasingly important type of pants for boys. Theyv were commonly worn by younger boys with cut-away jackets. Early knee pants were often quite long, looking more like long pants that the boy had outgrown. A good example is a Boston boy, probably in the late 1860s. Knee pants increased in popularity as the 19h century progressed, especially in urban areas. We see many boys wearing knee pants suits in the 1880s, but mostly younger boys. Fauntleroy and sailor suits were commonly worn with knee pants. Knee pants became standard (1890s). Knee pants were very widely worn at the turn of the 20th century. We notice most American boys wearing knee pants suits in the 1890s and 1900s. Boys of all ages worn them inclulding teenagers. Boys Knee pants were commonly brought as part of a suit. They could be purchased separately. But the area of catalog space devoted to suits as compared to just the trousers suggest that knee pants were mostly purchased as suits. Wearing suits was much more common at the time than currently. Knee pants began going out of style in the 1910s as boys began to more commonly wear knicker suits. American boys of all ages worn knee pants suits, inclulding teenagers, but this varied chronologically. When knee pants first appeared in the mid-19th century, they were made for younger boys. This variedm but most boys after about 8 years of age began wearing long pants. The age conventions were fairlt stable in the 1860s and 70s. Most boys continued to wear long pants. Age conventions gradually shifted uoward, but this was not really apparent until the 1880s. But only in the 1890s do we begin to see older boys wearing knee pants. At the turn-of the 20th century, knee pants were the standard trousers for boys. Boys Knee pants were commonly brought as part of a suit. They could be purchased separately. But the area of catalog space devoted to suits as compared to just the trousers suggest that knee pants were mostly purchased as suits. Wearing suits was much more common at the time than currently. Some suits came with two pairs of pants. We think this usually meant two pairs of knee pants, but this was not always the case with knickers.

Figure 3.--This American boy wears a double-breasted knickers suit, we think in the 1910s or early 20s.

Knickers

American boys mostly wore long pants in the 19th century, although knee pants became very common in the 1890s. We see bloomer knickers during the mid-19th century, but we do not see knickers being worn very commonly. Knickers gradually became more important after the turn of the 20th century. Knee pany were still quite common in the 1900s, but by the 1910s knickers had become the most common type of pants worn by American boys. We see most school age boys wearing thm up to about 15 years of age, but this varied from family to family. Knee pants went out of style and short pants appeared after World War I, but knickers were more popular for school-age boys. There were social class and regional differences. Knickers were still very common in the 1920s, but grdually it became less common for olders boys to wear them. This trend continued in the 1930s when we see ore boys wearing long pants. It was less common for teenagers to wear knickers in the 30s. Knicers very rapidly went out of style in the 1940s. We notice knicker suits being worn with dfferent acket styles. There were many different colors and batterns. Some boys had a conservatve navy blue or black suit. Some suits came with two pairs of pants--sometimes shorts and knickers, other times knickers and long pants. Hosiery varied. American boys mostly wore knickers with first long stockings and then kneesocks. Black long stockings were very common. Knee socks were often patterned, frequenly loud patterns. We note some boys, however, in the 1930s wearing knickers with ankle socks--especially during the Summer. This was less common with knicker suits, but as you can see here not unknown. The notice various styles of knickers. There were variations in length, fullness, and closures.

Figure 4.--This American boy wears a summer short pants suit for a family reunion we think in the 1950s or early-60s. The 1950s was the last decade innwjich shoirt oants suits were very common.

Short Pants

Most other kinds of pants evolved at a time when they were commonly worn as part of suits. Short pants were also worn with suits, but at the time they developed boys did not wear suits as commonly as earlier. Thus short pants often were not worn as suit pants. The fashion of short pants spread to the United States in the 1910s. Slowly the already existing knee pants evolved into short pants. Along with knickers, the new style by the 1920s had generally replaced the knee pants which had dominated boys' fashions since the 1870s. The dominant fashion was knicker suits. Short pnts and short panrs suits were never as popula in America as in Europe. Even BoyvScouts did not commonly wear shorts. Short pants might be worn by younger boys, There was also a social-class factor. Boys from affluent families were also more likely to wear short pants and short pants suits. Many well to do Americans had always looked to England, at least for men and boys'fashions much to the chagrin of American boys. Despite the English trends, however, knicker suits were more common in America--especially for older boys. After knickers went out if style in the early-40s, we only see long pants and short pants suits. Long pants began to become more common in the 1930s. And this trend continued in the era after World War II (1939-45) when short pants began to be seen as a casual clothing garment. Short pants suits were common before the War but became much less common after the war, especially by the 1960s. Long pants suits were by far the most common trousers with suits after World War II. nd gradually the short pants suits began going out of style. Except for very young boys, we only see short pants suits being worn into the 1960s.

Created: 8:45 PM 10/29/2010
Last updated: 8:45 PM 10/29/2010